Brain Stimulation in Addiction

Deep brain stimulation surgery for alcohol addiction.

BACKGROUND The consequences of chronic alcohol dependence cause important health and economic burdens worldwide. Relapse rates after standard treatment (medication and psychotherapy) are high. There is evidence from in vivo investigations and from studies in patients that the brain's reward system is critically involved in the development and maintenance of addictive behavior, suggesting that m...

Brain Stimulation Technology in Addiction Medicine Main Problems Waiting for Solutions

Noninvasive brain stimulation treatments for addiction and major depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent, disabling, and challenging illnesses for which new treatment options are needed, particularly in comorbid cases. Neuroimaging studies of the functional architecture of the brain suggest common neural substrates underlying MDD and SUDs. Intrinsic brain activity is organized into a set of functional networks, of whi...

Is deep brain stimulation a prospective "cure" for addiction?

Deep brain stimulation has been put forward as a potential "cure" for intractable drug addiction. This is largely based on preclinical studies in animal models of addiction and small case series of positive, but short-term, effects on addictive behaviour in highly selected individuals. The history of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorders suggests that we should be cautious in premat...

brain stimulation technology in addiction medicine main problems waiting for solutions

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